Greek and Roman Antiquities.

The collection of Greek and Roman antiquities at the ground floor (Hochparterre) of the KHM main building, Maria Theresian Platz, was started by the Habsburgs in the 16th c.The unique and spectacular antique cameos, including the famous Gemma Augustea, (photo 1) highlights of this KHM department, date from Rudolf II (ruled from 1576 till 1612).Over the centuries the collection expanded and was moved in 1891 from the Augustinian Corridor in the Hofburg Place and from the Lower Belvedere Palace into the newly opened Kunsthistorisches Museum.After renovation work the collection is presented since 2005 in a new light but also in a space expanded to nine halls and seven cabinets. The number of the items on display amount to 2500 objects. Remarkable are the light effects as you can see from my photos. Purists might say that there are too much light effects but I like the way this department played with lights. Display of antique statue heads can be dull and this is certainly not what I would say from this part of the KHM.

It was a very pleasant visit not forgetting the amazing décor of the cafeteria under the monumental cupola.

It is also possible to visit with the same ticket the Ephesus museum at the Neue Burg. We did not use that possibility because visiting the Paintings gallery plus the Greek, Roman and Egyptian departments of the KHM main building took us the whole day.

Open from 10 - 18 h from Tuesday till Sunday (Thursday till 21 h). Closed on Monday.There are files. Actually there are two ticket offices (19th c. style) but it happens that visitors are queuing only at the one on the right, so check by pushing the left "Eintritt" door if that ticket office is open.Price (2013): full 14€, with the "Wien-Karte" 13€, reduced 11€ (for seniors>65 yr). Audioguide and cloak room are included.

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P. Bruegel "Children's games".

When facing a painting of P. Bruegel the Elder one first looks at all the picture and then starts looking at the details. That takes time. I have seen an amateur of Bruegel standing a quarter of an hour in front of the "Hunters in the snow" (My wife and I use to sit for long periods on the sofa facing this marvelous painting).

Now if you are standing in front of an "encyclopedia" picture like "Children's games" with 230 children playing 83 different games you need even more time to decipher at least some of them! We did and what was funny is that we found some games we had been playing in Brussels on the street when we were kids. Amazing to find out that games from 1560 were still played by us around 1950.We even remembered the names in Brussels dialect: "broek over drij" (broek over drie in Dutch - playing leapfrog - photo 1), "Hoamer, scheir of mes" (Hamer, schaar of mes in Dutch - photo 2 - "Rock Paper Scissors" translation thanks to Nemorino) and "klasjdop" (kletsdop in Dutch, a variety of top playing - photo 3).

This type of composition has no parallel or precedent, except the "Flemish (or Dutch) Proverbs" also from P. Bruegel at the Neue Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.

KHM architecture and cafeteria.

On my first visit to the KHM around 1968 I didn't mind about the architecture. I was on a business trip and had only 15 minutes between two appointments to run to room X to see the Bruegels.

Since then (4 more visits) I take all my time to admire entrance hall, staircase and cupola hall. Ascending the stairs, visitors pass Antonio Canova’s most pictured "Theseus Slaying the Centaur" on their way to the cupola hall among a wealth of neo-baroque decorations.

You know that I love Le Louvre, Paris but the Pyramid is peanuts compared to the imperial display of this central part of the KHM, Vienna. No other European museum can rival with the entrance of the KHM and none museum - in the world? - has a cafeteria in such a magnificent décor.My wife and I felt less enthusiast about the food. The sandwiches were good but minuscule, the pastries "strudel" could have been better but the service was very kind (maybe because we tried to speak German). But these remarks lost any significance when looking around us (ref. my photos). As we stayed the whole day at the KHM we had a sandwich at 12 h (before the affluence, the cafeteria has not so many tables) and pastry and coffee around 15 h.

It was my intention to write here some info about the architecture of the KHM but you can find all that on the website of the KHM. No need to be redundant.

Paintings - What to see if you are short on time.

The collection of paintings of the KHM "Gemäldegalerie" with works from the 15th c. till the 18th c., on the first floor, is divided by the monumental staircase in two wings:

The Italian, Spanish and French paintings in Rooms I till VII and 1 till 13.Here you will find mainly Venetian paintings (Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Canaletto), Raphael, Caravaggio and Italian Baroque painters, plus a number of Velasquez pictures.

But, of course, it is the worldwide unique collection of 14 paintings of P. BRUEGEL the ELDER, i.e. the third of his paintings known about the world that moves visitors from all over the world to Room X of the KHM.Among these fourteen some of the most remarkable as "The Peasant Wedding" (photo 1), "The Peasants Dance", "The Tower of Babel" (photo 2), "The Fight of Carnival and Lent", and especially the most beautiful, the purest, the most intense of the works of P. Bruegel "Hunters in the Snow"(photo 3).

Visiting the whole Paintings gallery needs 3 - 4 hours. The larger rooms are comfortable with sofas so that you can sit in front of your preferred works to admire them at length (photo 5). Fortunately even in the Bruegel room the visitors are not bumping into each other.

If you are short in time I would suggest to start with the Flemish and Dutch part in Rooms IX, 14 and following, as this is the best part of the museum, at least in my opinion.

Gemäldegalerie-Paintings - P. BRUEGEL collection.

For all amateurs of Pieter Bruegel the Elder the room X of the Paint gallery at the KHM, located in one of the imperial palaces near the Hofburg, is an absolute must. The museum has 14 paintings of P. Bruegel the Elder, i.e. the third of his paintings known about the world!

Among these fourteen some of the most remarkable as The Tower of Babel, The Fight of Carnival and Lent, the Peasants Dance, The Peasant Wedding and especially the most beautiful, the purest, the most intense of the works of P. Bruegel " Hunters in the Snow" To go to Vienna without having seen Bruegel it is as going to Paris without seeing La Joconde in Le Louvre. But contrary to the room of the Louvre with Mona Lisa, visitors are not bumping into each other in room X of the KHM of Vienna.

A relation having visited the KHM asked me (it was the time of the action in justice against the Austrian State about the Klimt's) if Belgium, which has only six P. Bruegel the Elder, did not wish the return of the Bruegel's to Brussels where the painter lived and died (1569). I would certainly like to see more Bruegel's in the Museum of the Fine Arts in Brussels but these paintings were offered by the city of Antwerp to the archduke Ernest in 1594, the others were bought in total legality. Furthermore if Belgium began demanding the return of all the works of the Flemish painters worldwide she would not have enough walls to hang them on and numerous museums in the world would have empty rooms. And last but not least, numerous persons worldwide know Belgium only by her painters. Let the Bruegel's stays in Vienna, it is a pleasure to see them in a beautiful surrounding such as the KHM and the town of Vienna.

KHM - INTRODUCTION.

1° KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, the most important located at A-1010 Wien, Maria Theresien-Platz in the magnificent building from the end of the 19th c. (photo 1). See my review : KHM ArchitectureThis museum has FIVE departments:- Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection . - Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities (renovated museography) on the ground floor called "Hochparterre". See my review Greek-Roman Antiquities. - The Gemäldegalerie - Picture Gallery on the first floor gets visitors from all over the world who come to see the most famous Bruegel the Elder collection. See my reviews : Paintings, Gemäldegalerie, P. Bruegel collection, Best of P. Bruegel, Bruegel Children's Games .- The Coin Cabinet on the second floor .- The Kunstkammer - Collection of Sculpture and Decorative Arts (ground floor) is presently closed. (See my tip from 2007 Kunstkammer) .

2° NEUE BURG at A-1010 Vienna, Heldenplatz, the second important KHM museum is a monumental wing of the Vienna Hofburg (photo 2) . The Neue Burg museum has THREE departments : - Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer presents magnificent suits of armour and ceremonial arms, one of the best and largest collections in the world. See my review Suits of armour.- Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments .- Ephesus Museum .

The KHM museums counted 1.3 million visitors in 2007. It is for Austria what Le Louvre is for France. I would suggest to amateurs of art who are in Vienna only for a short stay not to miss the Kunsthistorisches Museum at the Maria Theresien-Platz. It is much better than the Hofburg; between Sissi and the Gemäldegalerie there is no hesitation possible.

Now a few practical informations about the two principal museums:

The KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, with the paintings gallery (Maria Theresien-Platz) is open from 10 - 18 h from Tuesday till Sunday (Thursday till 21 h). Closed on Monday.Open each day from June to August.

There are files. Actually there are two ticket offices (19th c. style) but it happens that visitors are queuing only at the one on the right, so check by pushing the left "Eintritt" door if that ticket office is open.The décor of the cafeteria under the cupola is amazing; this is the most beautiful museum cafeteria in Europe ! See : CafetariaPrice (2014): full 14€, with the "Wien-Karte" 13€, reduced11€ (for 27 yr & >65 yr). Cloak room is included. Audioguide 4€. The ticket is valid for the KHM collections at the Neue Burg.Free 19 yr.

Kunsthistorisches Museum-PAINTINGS-Gemäldegalerie.

As one of the most important art museums of Europe the "Kunsthistorisches Museum" has now a specific site on the Vienna "things to do". I'm quite glad of this. The KHM group of museums counted 1.3 million visitors in 2007. It is for Austria what Le Louvre is for France.

The gallery of paintings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum results from the project of a private imperial collection and is the reflection of the taste of the various member collectors of the dynasty of Habsburg, mainly the emperor Rodolphe II and the archdukes Ferdinand II and Leopold Guillaume. This archduke is the greatest paint collector of his 17th century. Thanks to him the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna became a museum of an essential importance as regards the Flemish and Venetian Schools. One will notice that this collection is geographically limited to the countries which had narrow links with the Habsburg i.e. Germany, the South of Netherlands (Belgium) the North of Italy and Spain but that France and Holland, with whom Austria had tense relations, are only weakly represented. It would be vain to review the painters and the works of this grand collection of the 15th to the 18th centuries. The collection of Pieter Bruegel the Elder is unequalled and is worth by itself the journey to Vienna. Furthermore there are Van der Weyden, Dürer, Jordaens, Rubens, Van Dyck, Titien, Tintoret, Veronese, Canaleto, Velasquez and many others. One of my favourite paintings, besides the Bruegels, is the" Allegorie of Painting" of Vermeer who was acquired in 1945. I find extraordinary that 65 years ago one could still buy a Vermeer!

On my last visit I found this amusing "trompe l'oeil" picture from Samuel van Hoogstraten, a pupil from Rembrandt (photo 3).

Hofjagd-und Rüstkammer - Armour and weapons

The "Hofjagd-und Rüstkammer" - Armour and Arms collection is located in the Neue Burg at the Heldenplatz which is a monumental wing of the Hofburg planned to house the new living quarters of the emperor as evidenced by the stairway and marble hall. Actually this museum belongs to the KHM.

It is the most beautiful collection of suits of armour from all Europe.

The collection of weapons ( Hofjagd-und Rüstkammer) of the Kunsthistorisches Museum is centred on ceremonial or parade weapons and offers a very wide panorama of the evolution of what was a real art for the 15th century in Europe and in the Middle East.The emperor Maximilien I devoted gladly to the tournaments and incited the young noble persons to devote to the joust and especially the running which was practised with sharp lances, more dangerous than the joust, but much less expensive because she could be practised in the battle armour. Things did not stay in the field of ordinary armour because the Habsburg (notably both brothers Maximilien II and Ferdinand II) by taste for art and splendour led the technique of armours to a real art close to the goldsmith's art. The connoisseur will find in this museum numerous chiselled armours, inlaid armours, the fluted armours, the costume armours, greek-roman style armours, and darkened armours from the Baroque period.

Considerable financial means were needed to pay such works of art. Ferdinand II of Tyrol excelled at this passion of the beautiful suits of armour. Not satisfied with his own armours he collected armours and weapons of 125 famous persons of his time. We can see the suit of armour of Philippe II of Spain.These collections are well presented in a number of rooms where the visitor is often alone! This museum still has not the chance (or misfortune for the connoisseurs) to be on the visit program of the groups.There is also on show a collection of hunting weapons.

Open : Wednesday - Sunday 10 - 18 h.

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The KUNSTKAMMER - Collection of Decorative Arts

The Kunstkammer (Collection of Sculpture and Decorative Arts), located in the main building of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, M.Theresianplatz, should not be confused with the "Schatzkammer" (Treasury) in the Hofburg at the Schweizerhof.The Kunstkammer is a collection of sculptures and decorative arts with a large variety or products of natural art and works of fine art such as goldsmith’s art, bronze, ebony, wooden and stone sculptures, automatons and clocks, games, cabinets, curiosities and tapestries which belonged to the Habsburgs.There exists a "Tapisseriensammlung" merged with the "Kunstkammer". This collection includes over 800 tapestries that served to decorate the interiors of castles. Unfortunately for the amateurs only a few of the tapestries are displayed today.

The Kunstkammer is presently closed but in 2005 I could visit a good part of it at the "Hochparterre" of the main building and could take some photos.

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Kunsthistorisches Museum - Stars of the Show

The list of grand masters represented at the KHM is really long and not limited to Titian, Rubens, Durer, Tintoretto, Cranach, van Dyke, and Veronese. These are some but not all of those for whom there is no space here. Below, a random sampling to suggest the breadth of paintings assembled by the Habsburgs ( not coincidentally some of my favorites ).

Image 1 - Summer - Giuseppe Arcimboldo - 1527-93 - an Italian painter and student of Leonardo da Vinci, he became court painter for the Habsburgs as well as a party planner for the over the top social events of European royalty. His sacred and secular art were of only average ability. His fame rests with the composite portraits of himself and his patrons and subjects, figures composed of animals, fish, vegetables and fruits, books, tools, mystical creatures. A cucumber becomes a nose, a shark becomes a mouth. Most famous are his alleged self-portraits as the four seasons. There are several sets done years apart - this image is Summer, done in 1563. His work at KHM is among the most highly prized.

Image 2 - David with the Head of Goliath - Michaelangelo daCaraveggio - 1571-1610 - introduced a striking change in portrait art by shifting from light to dark with little intervening shade of grey, as seen here, and later adapted by many Baroque painters. The severed head of Goliath is a self portrait by Caraveggio himself. Listology ranks this painting as number 74 of the world's 100 greatest paintings.

Image 3 - Self Portrait - Rembrandt - note the absence of background, a tribute to Caraveggio. Rembrandt painted the great movers and shakers of his era, but his best model remains himself, here as an older man.

Image 4 - Jane Seymour - Hans Holbein - 1498-1543 - a German artist considered one of the greatest portrait painters of the 16th C, he did his most famous work in the court of Henry VIII King of England. Known for the extreme detail and accuracy of his art, his paintings are for many important historical figures like Henry their most accepted likeness today. Later in his career, he stopped using background scenery such as sitting rooms and just painted his figure against a monochrome background, unique in his era. The third of Henry VIII six wives, she was the only one to bear him a son, but died shortly after childbirth of infection. She would be the only wife to receive a Queen's burial although never having been a queen in real life.

Image 5 - The Artist in His Studio aka The Art of Painting - Johannes Vermeer - 1632-75 - little is known of the famed painter from Delft who specialized in domestic paintings with exquisite use of light. Apparently slow and tedious, his production was limited and there are less than 40 works attributed to him with certainty. Each is a study in delicate use of bright colors. Listology records this painting as number 78 among the world's greatest 100 paintings.

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Kunsthistorisches Museum Introduction

The central hall of the KMH can be considered a work of art simply for its beauty. All marble, covered in stucco and gold leaf, and dominated by a huge staircase and the octagonal dome, this is indeed a room worth studying. The great fresco on the ceiling (image 3) above the grand staircase is by the Hungarian realist Munkacsy (1888). The cupola of the dome (image 4) is visible in entirety only from the second level and has two layers of features - the lowermost has relief busts of the Habsburg emperors and the upper level coats of arms and monograms of the Hapsburg family and individual important ruling members. Between the ground and second levels a central hole in the ceiling allows one to look up from ground level to the top. On the second floor under the dome an expensive and posh cafe offers goodies and coffee, apparently becoming an upscale restaurant at night after the museum closes. Must be quite a venue. At the landing of the great staircase an oversized sculpture documents Theseus Slaying the Centaur Bianor ( images 1,2 ). Note at the foot of the staircase the lions - they hold the Habsburg coat of arms.

THESEUS SLAYING THE CENTAUR - the amazing Theseus, son of Aegeus the king of Athens, had a remarkable career including killing the Minotaur and preventing the Amazons from attacking Athens. He is most famous for killing Bianor the Centaur and saving Hippodamia, the bride of his friend Pirithous king of the Lapiths, from being kidnapped.

The fourth largest collection of paintings in the world exemplifies the Habsburg craze for fine artwork as well as antiquities. The museum strong points are 16th and 17th C masterworks from Northern Italy, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium with a special emphasis on Flemish painters. It is not a coincidence that these were the lands ruled by the Habsburgs during this period, of course. The old master's museum is divided into sections corresponding to the countries mentioned.

As in most museums the truly famous works of art are interspersed with lesser efforts and, in this museum where signage is almost exclusively German, a good guide book is necessary to lead one through the central larger rooms and smaller peripheral rooms in a logical order so that the work emanating from each country is viewed as a unit. Even with a guide the room layout and numbering is confusing - considerable great art is bypassed unintentionally.

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Kunsthistorisches Museum - great works of Art

The collection of paintings at the royal courts had certainly at least partly the purpose of beeing able to show the most beautiful places of an empire - similar to a collection of postcards collected by tourists of today.In Kunsthistorisches Museum of today you may spend the whole day seeing great collections of paintings by Brueghel, Vermeer, Archimboldo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Tintoretto etc.etc.etc...The galleries are open daily except mondays :10.00a.m. - 06.00p.m., thursdays even untill 09.00p.m.!!CLOSED jan1st, May 1st , Nov.1st and dec.25th !!

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Kunsthistorisches Museum - A Room Full of Bruegel

Peter Bruegel was the greatest of 16th Century Flemish painters and holds an inordinately large percentage of the 100 greatest paintings of all time as listed by Listology. He is most famed for his landscapes and images of peasant life, although far from a peasant himself. Attention to landscape was unique in his era as most painters simply used it as a background. And much of what we know about peasant life at this time is derived from his unique interest, often populating his landscapes with them. His detailed depictions of daily life, meals, festivals, celebrations, games - astounding. There are about 45 authenticated Bruegel works and the KHM incredibly has up to 14 of them, all displayed in one amazing room. Each great museum has a superstar. Enjoy the incredible detail in these selected paintings in real life - take time - one just cannot meander past them.

THE TOWER OF BABEL - ranked by Listology as 69 among the world's greatest 100 paintings - depicts the biblical story as a failure of communication and engineering. Modelled after the Roman Colosseum with innumerable arches, it depicts the layers of the building on a slant while the arches are perpendicular. The resulting architectural stress has caused some parts of the building to crumble. The upper levels are more complete than some of the lower levels. Characters in 16thC dress observe from afar the chaotic construction.

THE FIGHT BETWEEN CARNIVAL AND LENT - ranked by Listology as 29 among the world's greatest 100 paintings - depicts the two forces dominant in peasant life during the 16th C., an inn on the left with beer drinkers gathered in front and a church on the right with children. In the center, a well and two competing floats. And in the foreground the contemporary caricature of carnival, a fat man dressed in blue. He sits astride a wine barrel with a pie on his head and a stake holding a pig's head. One can look at this forever, and I did.

THE PEASANT WEDDING - a most famous work, with every figure dissected by the art experts. Set in a barn, the meal of bread, porridge, and soup. The bride sits under the canopy, the identity of the groom uncertain but perhaps the man in black with a beer mug. The meal is served from a disconnected barn door. Being a peasant wasn't easy.

THE HUNTERS IN THE SNOW - one of the most popular old master paintings for Christmas cards, this melancholy depiction of three tired hunters and their equally tired dogs trudging home after a poor day of hunting with only one meager carcass, stated to be a fox, to show for their day. In the background, skaters on a frozen river. One of my absolute favorites.

THE CONVERSION OF PAUL - one of the few Bruegel paintings not set in the Flemish countryside, it depicts Saul the Pharisee on his way to Damascus from Jerusalem to harrass Christians. He has just been struck to the ground and is almost invisible. The setting is the Alps and the soldiers and officers are dressed in traditional Flemish garb circa the 16th C despite the Biblical Era timeframe and the long detour through south-central Europe

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Kunsthistorisches Museum - great architecture

Kunsthistorisches Museum is one of the 2 best museums in Vienna, not only for the great collections that you may see there, but also for the great architecture of the building, that once belonged to the Hofburg and the royal court of the Austrian empire. Collections of paintings and other works of art were quite common at a royal court and many of the exhibits of today had been given as a donation by other emperors who visited Vienna in former times.In order to see the best parts of the building, you have to get inside and pay for the entrance. Photography is no problem, you simply are not allowed to use a flash or tripod.the most beautiful parts of the building are certainly the giant entrance-hall and the high dome with a restaurant / cafe underneath.You are able to enter the cafe ONLY when you pay the entrance-fee for the museum !

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the egyptian collections in Kunsthist. Museum

The egyptian- and oriental collection in Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is in a side-wing of the building to the right at the entrancehall.You will find various mummies there (see the mummie of a crocodile on my picture), ornate sarcophags and most of the walls of the 6 museum-halls are painted and decorated like the death-chambers in the egyptian pyramids.One of the highlights of the egyptian collection is the portrait of king Thutmosis II, who lived around 1460 B.C. Most of these exhibits were taken to Vienna in the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, when austrian archeologists made excarvations in Gizeh. The egyptian- and oriental collections are open daily except mondays :10.00a.m. - 06.00p.m., thursdays even untill 09.00p.m.!!it is CLOSED jan1st, May 1st , Nov.1st and dec.25th !!

My trip to Kenya has started at Vienna from where I had direct fly to Mombasa. I arrived to Vienna around noon, having all day to explore the town because my fly was at 21:45 PM. Unfortunatelly, it......